As part of our Customer First Transformation Programme, Birmingham City Council has been investing in modern technologies – enabling customers who find it easier to go online to do so.

We have had reports that, thanks to this new technology, residents are finding it quicker and easier than the more traditional methods of phoning and going into council offices.

People can use the technology wherever and whenever it suits them best – it’s available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and can be accessed from home or while they are out and about.

It’s quite surprising just how many council services can now be accessed online.

All people need to do is go to www.birmingham.gov.uk to see for themselves what a wealth of information is available about all council services. There is also a link from the home page to www.birmingham.gov.uk/doitonline , which contains over 100 electronic forms which enable people to do a wide range of transactions – from reporting a missed refuse collection to setting up a benefits claim.

People can also use this site to report a pothole in the road, or to make a council tax payment.

We advise residents to set up an online account, so that they can track all of their enquiries. That is really easy to do as well, with full instructions provided on the website.

And for those people who don’t have a computer, but do have a smart phone, we have developed a mobile app, which can be downloaded from the Apple store or from our website.